Two-year permit recommended for Makawao TVR
By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff WriterWAILUKU - The Maui County Council's Land Use Committee voted unanimously for a two-year permit that would enable the Hale Hookipa Inn in Makawao to continue to operate as a transient vacation rental.
The four-bedroom, short-term rental at 32 Pakani St. is zoned residential and has attracted both the support and ire of neighbors.
Cherie Attix's 2,000-square-foot home was placed on the national and Hawaii registers of historic places after she restored it herself.
The rooms rent for $125 and $155 a night, and Attix lives in a small home next door.
Council Member Gladys Baisa proffered Attix the two-year conditional use permit extension. Council Member Michelle Anderson added a condition that Attix attempt to meet with her neighbors and an independent mediator to address their concerns.
If the full County Council supports the permit approval, it will expire Aug. 23, 2010.
Attix had asked for a five- to 10-year permit, noting that no formal complaints or county violations have ever been filed against her, and the annual application process is exhaustive and expensive.
Attix first applied for the conditional-use permit in 2001 with her initial one-year permit approved in 2006.
For the renewal, she gathered a petition, letters or public testimony in support of her vacation rental.
However, the county Planning Department also has heard from about half as many people against her application.
Neighbor Pat Borge testified Wednesday that renters cause problems with their pets and cars and bother nearby farm animals.
"When you put a TVR in a residential district, this is what happens," Borge said.
"It's not all hunky-dory like a lot of people want you to believe."
One neighbor, Debra Gomes Alipio, said Attix and the Planning Department have neglected to keep her and her father informed about public meetings on Attix's application.
Attix's inn is the original home of Gomes Alipio's great-grandparents.
Jocelyn Perreira spoke on behalf of Makawao Main Street Association to endorse the application.
The association board members said they do not support vacation rentals in the heart of Makawao, but Attix does not run a typical operation, Perreira said. It's more of a bed-and-breakfast.
County Planning Director Jeff Hunt said Attix also deserves some credit for renting out two ohana units to long-term renters.
Attix said she has never received any complaints herself and promised council members to try to continue to addressing the concerns.
Maui Vacation Rental Association board member Tom Croly testified that this is not an efficient use of the committee's limited time and lobbied to complete vacation rental reforms before another County Council committee.
There are only 14 conditional-use permits for vacation rentals in districts outside of hotel/resort areas while another 58 remain in the application process, Croly said.
The Land Use Committee on Wednesday also opened a review of a request from a band of 10 landowners who want to move forward with a proposed 52-lot subdivision in Pukalani to accommodate their children and grandchildren.
The proposed 27.48-acre Makaena Place subdivision is along Kula Highway, across from King Kekaulike High School.
For Makaena Place to move forward, the owners - who already have homes on their 10 properties - need a state Land Use Commission reclassification from agriculture to rural and a county zoning change from agricultural to rural.
Landowner Leonard Gomes Jr. said he purchased his three-acre parcel in 1981 "by the skin of my teeth" in order to fulfill a lifelong dream of a family homestead.
Sibyl Padgett said she inherited her parcel from her family, and this is the only way she and her siblings can afford to own a home on Maui.
"Give us a chance to do this for our family and allow us to keep its rural characteristics," said Robert Kimball, who owns 2.67 acres of the proposed subdivision on which he grows avocados and bananas.
Kimball said his children would divide the land into three lots where they will build homes. He also said he will maintain his farming.
The landowners joined together to submit their application in 2004 and have built an 8-inch waterline for the project.
One of their main concerns Wednesday was a recommendation by the county for the landowners to construct a 40-foot-wide road with sidewalks that would connect to Loha Place, which runs off Iolani and Loha streets in Pukalani.
Frank Padgett said connecting the road would ruin the character of the family subdivision.
Padgett complained that Pukalani residents and high school students would use the new throughway to avoid traffic lights in the area.
* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.
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mauiaina
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07-25-08 12:13 AM
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...families being slaughtered for sport and Pat's farm animals get to watch. I think this is backwards.
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surfah
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07-24-08 11:23 PM
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finally someone opersting got to extend their permit. this is an owner that does run a tvr not traditonal b&b. she does live adjacent so maybe the council will begin to make progress on others who deserve permits as well . . get a process going and stop hiring and spending tax dollars to chase small home owners. spend the resoueces to find a real permit process that includes all zoning. . the county has and planning commission put her through an awful public tar and feahtering to give her a permit. why do this if you permit anyway. this is all ridiculous politics with families being slaughtered for sport.
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kimosurf
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07-24-08 10:23 PM
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Hey ! What of Pat's farm animals being bothered by renters ? Mauiaina: Know what the big diff is between China and Maui ? Everyone works and there is no welfare. Government is Commie like here, but for 2 decades capitalism has advanced them into the 21st Century. Last time I was there the first car I noticed at the 5 star hotel was a red Mercedes roadster driven by a native. Hmmmmmmmm.
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mauiaina
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07-24-08 9:36 PM
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How does it work? It doesn't work; that's the problem. Yes, they need a permit. No they don't have one. No they aren't going to get one, no matter how hard they try. A person in the People's Republic of China would stand a better chance of getting permission from their government. Sad, isn't it?
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kruger
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07-24-08 8:38 PM
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I do not understand how the TVR thing works. I have stayed on Molokai with "friends of friends". They have a small cottage about 100 feet from their home, out on East end, far from town. They rent by 2 night minimum or week. Is this a TVR? Should they apply for a permit(they may have one for all I know). How does it work? By the way, we loved staying there and the owners, native Hawaiians, are great people. So how does it work?
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nuffaready
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07-24-08 3:09 PM
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Let's see, we give up our best beaches to the hotels,now we have to give up our neighborhoods too? Less B&B's, more long-term rentals, and people wouldn't have to live 4 families to 1 home.
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proudpatriot56
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07-24-08 2:54 PM
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Everyone wants to know why it takes the County Council so long to get anything accomplished, yet not one person on that council has ever bothered to address that question directly. If you watch just ONE council meeting, though, it becomes obvious why nothing gets done! These characters sit there and ask the most ridiculous questions, bicker among themselves - and then vote to delay any action on the matter at hand! So yes, I guess the fact that one B&B owner finally got a two-year permit IS newsworthy. Gives a lot of other people a little ray of hope. For others it's already too late. And for yet others, they probably never should have had such a venture going in the first place. It's just good to see that one individual with a unique place to share has persevered through years of needless bureaucracy and prevailed at last.
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mauiisland
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07-24-08 2:38 PM
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Wow! and this process is paid by you and me (the hotels pay a lot too, which may be why the county is doing their biding to crush TRVs). Now that the economy is tanking, maybe the county could give little business a break and give us a new law that deals with this problem quickly (not likely). Where are the true leaders? JustMyTake shows us that long term renters are often less desirable than TRVs. 4 Families crammed into one 4 bedroom house is no bargain.
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mauiaina
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07-24-08 2:02 PM
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It's a sad testiment to the workings of our county government (or lack thereof) that the approval of this permit is newsworthy.
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KiheiGuy
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07-24-08 12:35 PM
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Oh man. Not more crap from the hypocrite Pat Borge. It's not all "your island" brah. Leave people be, your animals are just fine Pat. My god. Stop complaining already Pat. You are such a prima donna.
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kimosurf
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07-24-08 12:22 PM
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Kaimom: Well done - excellent points. Did you catch the Pat Borge quote " Renters ...bother nearby farm animals. " One can only imagine whats up with that.
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KaiMom
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07-24-08 11:45 AM
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Are you kidding me!?! The permit process takes how long? For the TVR, she applied in 2001 and for the subdivisionthey applied in 2004! That is criminal! Clean house in the county offices, there is simply no excuse for this type of delay. If you and I took 4 to 7 years to do our jobs, we would be fired. No wonder they have fostered an environment where people do it illegally without the proper permits.
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JusMyTake
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07-24-08 11:42 AM
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Nice to see the council finally make a decision for once. How embarrassing that it takes them so long to accomplish things. One thing I don't fully understand is how credit should be given for long term rentals. I have several long term rentals surrounding my house and one of them has five units, another has three and it is causing a huge problem with parking, lots of water use as they are packing in several people in each unit, junker cars sitting for months on the street, cats running around leaving dead birds in my yard(where is their leash law?), late night parties, etc. I also notice that only one of these was a hawaiian family from the Big Island - most are people moving here from elsewhere hoping to make it on Maui. It just doesn't seem to add up that so many want long term affordable housing that only brings in more and more people to Maui. My take is that some folks should really think about how much their positions are really helping their cause.
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